Pharmaceutical licence goes on trial

This blogger is hopelessly addicted to media releases, particularly those which have an unexpected slant to them.  Here's one such release, which provides a rare opportunity to post the word "pharmaceutical" on a weblog dedicated to copyright.  It's from the UK's Copyright Licensing Agency, a.k.a. the CLA, and it reads like this:

New CLA licence facilitates collaboration in the pharmaceutical industry

Companies holding CLA’s Pharmaceutical Licence are offered the opportunity to gain new permissions with the release of the Trial Pharmaceutical Collaboration Licence (TPCL). The Licence will legitimise the sharing of content between separately licensed companies for the first time.

The TPCL is designed to support the requirements of an industry that relies heavily on collaboration between companies in the development of new products. The Licence is designed as an upgrade to the CLA Pharmaceutical Licence and Multinational Pharmaceutical Licence and will incur no extra cost to current licensees [well, that sounds like good news -- but ].

This free upgrade is available to a wider number of organisations from across the industry, including medical communications agencies, which can apply for a Pharmaceutical Licence or Multinational Pharmaceutical Licence for the first time to enjoy freedom to share content with external collaborative partners.

CLA’s Commercial Director and Deputy CEO, Mat Pfleger, said of the licence:

“We are very pleased to offer this licence upgrade for the pharmaceutical industry. CLA is committed to providing licensing solutions that enhance efficiency for our licensees; we are confident that the new offering will complement business practices within an industry which pioneers a collaborative approach to research and development. 

The new licence is being introduced on a trial basis and feedback will be requested from licensees later in the year. Customer comments are welcomed to ensure the licence provides maximum benefits for users".

For further information on the licence and how to apply, visit the CLA site.

This is not the only copyright licence offered to the pharma sector: details of the Publishers Licensing Society's Pharmaceutical Licence can be found here.